A plane on a routine surveillance patrol for the Fisheries and Defence departments found the ship on Tuesday afternoon. The Canadian Coast Guard has issued a notice to all vessels that the ship is an obstruction to navigation.

Transport Canada was still monitoring the boat Friday evening for marine pollution and interference with passing ships. The government body would not say whether the ship would be towed in or left to drift to shore on its own.

The hull numbers were traced to the ship’s owner in Japan, who confirmed that nobody was believed to be on the ship when it was dragged out to sea Olsson said.

The ship — the first, and largest, item confirmed to have crossed the Pacific Ocean to North America from Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 — was confirmed lost by Japanese officials. Attempts to hail the ship brought no response and Olsson told the Vancouver Sun, “We know nobody’s in danger.”

Near Midway Atoll in the deep Pacific, a Russian ship spotted an intact 20-foot Japanese boat from Fukushima last fall, along with debris such as a television and other household appliances, the University of Hawaii said.

Ocean researchers based in Hawaii are monitoring the debris from the tsunami, which they earlier predicted would reach western North America early next year.

There have been reports of Japanese bottles and other items washing ashore, but it’s not clear if they were from the tsunami.

Earlier this month, British Columbia and U.S. states Washington, Oregon and California signed an agreement to coordinate management of the tsunami debris when it reaches shore, and to return items of sentimental value to Japan.

The Japanese fishing boat that was found this week is not expected to reach landfall for another 50 days, said a media statement by Washington Senator Maria Cantwell, who has a special interest in marine issues.